27 February 2014

Evelyn's been begging for fish for a while. Jack's already indulged her with lobster and salmon (gosh, he has expensive tastes!) but as a non-fish-lover, it's hard to bring myself to even purchase fish, much less any expensive variety. So, I compromised and bought some whitefish fillets (and FYI, whitefish is any fish with white flesh: tilapia, cod, halibut, etc). Jack did the cooking and I thought it was really good. Maybe I will be converted to fish eating after all...

26 February 2014

I finally decided to sign the girls up for a session of tumbling and dance at a nearby studio. I think part of it's the weather--we haven't gone out much the last few months so a change in scenery is always nice. Part of it too is because Jack always encourages them to dance, then turns to me and asks when I'm going to sign them up.

Evelyn following closely behind.

The first half hour is a tumbling class where they stretch and learn to "properly" do somersaults and cartwheels and bridges. The girls are all smiles the whole time.

The second half hour is more stretching. Then they practice their positions and skip across the room, pretending they know how to chassé or passé. But of all the things I love most about tumbling and dance is this:

They walk around holding hands and acting like they've never fought a moment in their lives. That's a more valuable lesson than any dance move they might master.

24 February 2014

We took advantage of the nicer weather last Saturday and got a few things done outside. I filled the horse trough while Jack put in a few more maple taps. We fixed parts of the pasture fence and before heading in, took the opportunity to peak inside the bee hive. It was warm enough that they should have been trying to get out in search of water but we hadn't seen a single bee taking flight.

I stood back just in case (I am still keen on keeping my record of never being stung alive) but I wasn't very optimistic. Instead of combs of honey and chilly, slightly annoyed bees, there was nothing.

Those girls aren't alive unfortunately.

It was pretty apparent as Jack removed the boxes that they died from the cold winter--they just aren't accustomed to that kind of weather in this region. And though they built plenty of comb, there was barely a drop of honey left. There was also evidence of wretched hive beetles that are the bane of honeybees and a few patches of mildew that wouldn't have been good for them either.

It's sad--though I wasn't the beekeeper, they were still amazing to have around and we were looking forward to having another good harvest of honey. Jack's already started making calls to find new bees and we're crossing our fingers the ones who moved back into our house are alive and well. Spring will tell. For now, I'm tasked with painting the boxes so they're ready for the new bees.

22 February 2014

This morning I woke Jack and the girls up and drug them to downtown Indy so they could cheer for me in The Polar Bear Run. Of the cold weather races I've participated this winter (a Turkey Trot and New Year's Eve race), this one was by far the most mild.

It was a great course--very scenic through Indianapolis and since I got a pretty good starting spot, was pushed by the faster pack of runners and finished with a personal record of 26:26. It was fast enough that Jack and the girls didn't make it to the finish line to snap a photo of me kicking it in. If I may say so, I have an excellent sprint at the end. When will Jack ever learn? He always thinks I'll take longer than I do.

20 February 2014

We were in the mood for pizza but only had enough pepperoni for one. So, we had this instead. The red peppers add some sweetness to the savory alfredo sauce. Paired with grilled chicken and it's almost heaven in a pizza.

19 February 2014

Since we're settled in one spot early enough (and because we're all sick of winter), the girls and I thought we'd try our hand at sprouting some of our own seeds for this year's garden. We did some research and instead of buying expensive seeding kits, decided to make our own plantable newspaper pots. I've seen clever little pots made from toilet paper rolls but I've heard directly from a horticulturalist's mouth that the glue in the toilet paper rolls can stunt seedling's growth. So, we settled on newspaper, especially since we've already got a generous stack waiting around to be used.

It worked!

You'll Need:NewspaperMasking tapeCup (for shaping the newspaper)Potting soil, seeds, plant markers, etc1. Fold one piece of newspaper in half (mine are two pages thick but you could do more) and cut into thirds.

2. Roll around the cup. Secure side with a small piece of tape.

3. Fold bottom of newspaper in and close with a small piece of tape.

4. Fill with potting soil and plant seeds. Moisten soil but don't soak it. And make sure you mark which seeds will be what plants (they look strikingly similar when they first sprout!).

5. Whenever spring decides to show up, plant seedlings directly in the soil (still wrapped in newspaper) after hardening for a few days to avoid any shock to the little plants.

We got some flowers too--I find it hard to justify buying flowers that don't come back. That doesn't mean we don't love them on the front porch though! Here's hoping for lots of beautiful blossoms.

18 February 2014

I've been slowly working on the entry way since the bedrooms and living room are mostly finished (I'm waiting to do the flooring since I'm a messy, wreckless painter, haha). One thing that annoys me though is the lack of light into the entryway. There are a few windows but I thought we could do better.

17 February 2014

The girls got a couple of candy necklaces in their Valentine's packages and of course, gobbled them down first and asked for another. Here's what we improvised a few days later (they had other treats to enjoy too!):

You'll Need:

Twizzler Pull n Peel (affiliate link)Donut shaped candies, cereals, etc--think Fruit Loops, mini bagels or Life Savers Candies for older kids (affiliate link)1) Pull off two strands of the Twizzlers together, then pull apart to about a half inch from the bottom.

2) Knot the end of the Twizzler strands (by the way, if you'd like to make a longer necklace, string the candy/cereal/etc on before tying on another Twizzler strand).

3) String on candy and/or cereal (try pinching and rolling the end into a point if you're having trouble fitting the Twizzlers through).

Welcome to the farm!

In Case You Didn't Already Know...

I'm a stay at home mother of three beautiful, clever girls with another on the way, and a handsome, daredevil boy, and wife to a brainy aerospace engineer who, ironically, barely has enough common sense to keep himself alive day to day. I've got an incurable disorder causing me to love all creatures of the animal kingdom and I've a 'To Do Before I Die' list that could easily circle the globe several times.